The invention relates generally to the field of data processing for supporting a maintenance decision. More particularly, the invention relates to management and analysis of maintenance-related information for trending and reporting performance data from multiple sub-systems or components that are being monitored. Even more particularly, the invention relates to management and analysis of aircraft data so that problems can be predicted and addressed earlier than is possible by using conventional methodology.
Oftentimes, a maintenance process encompasses retrieval, analysis and dissemination of appropriate information to enable decision making regarding preventative maintenance and thus, preempting avoidable repairs or delays. However, such processing typically involves a predominantly manual management and analysis of the maintenance-related information and subsequent distribution of the maintenance decision support information. Because of the inherent delay associated with the predominantly manual maintenance process, under these circumstances, a variety of problems such as, but not limited to, increased maintenance cost and reduced operational efficiency may result. Even worse, these maintenance-related problems could become exacerbated as the complexities increase.
More specifically, a maintenance process of highly complex machines such as airborne vehicles is complicated, as the amount and type of the maintenance-related information collected from disparate sources is significantly large. In addition, appropriate processing of such maintenance-related information to derive a maintenance decision can be a daunting task. For instance, in an aircraft operation, multiple aircraft systems are constantly monitored by flight data acquisition systems to acquire maintenance-related information. The Air Transport Association (ATA) has categorized the monitored aircraft systems in different groups. Such monitored aircraft systems generally include Air Conditioning, Auto Flight, Communications, Fire Protection, Flight Controls, Fuel, Hydraulic Power, Indicating/Recording System, Landing Gear, Navigation, Oxygen, Pneumatic, Onboard Maintenance, Informational, Airborne Auxiliary Power, and Stabilizer. As these aircraft systems are monitored, aircraft data associated therewith, often referred to as xe2x80x9cremoval or component dataxe2x80x9d can be readily collected via a variety of data transfer techniques, including but not limited to, Flight Data Recorders (FDRs), Tape and Optical Disk Recovery, Digital Media Recovery (i.e. PCMCIA cards), Aircraft Communications and Reporting Systems (ACARs), VHF Digital Air to Ground Communications (VDLM2), Satellite Air to Ground Data Communications (SATCOM) High Frequency Air to Ground Wireless Data Communication Links (HFDL), and/or Wireless Ground Data Communication Links (GDL).
A typical aircraft maintenance process, for example, for a regularly scheduled service generally entails a manual analysis of maintenance-related information such as aircraft data, often referred to as xe2x80x9cmaintenance analysis,xe2x80x9d which may include manually examining the contents of the aircraft data associated with a particular component of an aircraft. By manually analyzing the aircraft data, a maintenance decision for that particular component of the aircraft may be derived. Contents of the maintenance decision, including maintenance decision support information, may be manually disseminated accordingly. As the maintenance must be completed under certain constraints, a suitable form of communication to disseminate this maintenance decision support information may be employed to issue warnings or recommend repair procedures in response to the maintenance-related information.
In this manner, to perform the maintenance analysis of the aircraft data, a subsystem or a component of an aircraft may be first closely monitored for a predetermined period of time. For example, a data acquisition and analysis system may acquire the aircraft data from multiple onboard sources and analyze the aircraft data to identify symptoms to determine the sub-system or the component operational failures, faults, events for providing maintenance-related information. The maintenance-related information provided by this system can enable the aircraft operators to reduce unscheduled mechanical delays and flight cancellations, thereby reducing bottom line costs.
Unfortunately, management and analysis of maintenance-related information for real-time trending and reporting performance data from one or more sub-systems or components can be difficult. Providing proactive maintenance analysis to minimize reactive maintenance could be even more difficult, as most operators fail to properly utilize the aircraft data for this purpose. Thus, accurate or specific decision support information for maintenance may not be provided prior to the occurrence of maintenance-related problems. Therefore, the operators may not, under these circumstances, benefit from the informational analysis of the maintenance-related information. Accordingly, a suitable transformation of the maintenance-related information is desirable that provides meaningful maintenance decision support information for performing proactive maintenance. Thus, an improved system and method for supporting maintenance decision is desired in the art.
Heretofore, the requirements of providing more proactive maintenance analysis and real-time reporting of a maintenance decision support information, in a manner without compromising accuracy referred to above have not been fully met. What is needed is a solution that simultaneously addresses all of these requirements.
The present invention generally provides a system and method of analyzing aircraft removal data for preventative maintenance. In one exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method of analyzing aircraft data for preventative maintenance, comprising: utilizing an aircraft dataset from at least one operational source; parsing the aircraft dataset into at least one data field; determining an acceptable range of values for the aircraft dataset within the at least one data field to define a threshold for the aircraft dataset; automatically activating a dynamic trigger to indicate a maintenance alert when the threshold is crossed; deriving a performance indication for the at least one operational source by determining one or more performance trends of the aircraft dataset; associating with the maintenance alert a notification having a status level indicative of a maintenance condition for the at least one operational source; combining the performance indication and the notification into an electronic report that forecasts need for preventative aircraft maintenance; and automatically delivering the electronic report to a predetermined location for retrieval by a consumer.
Another embodiment of the invention is based on an electronic media, comprising a program for performing this method. Another embodiment of the invention is based on a computer program, comprising computer or machine readable program elements translatable for implementing this method.
In one another embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing maintenance support, comprising: parsing a maintenance information dataset from at least one operational source into at least one data field to derive an active dataset; setting a trigger having a first limit and a second limit for the at least one data field; analyzing the active dataset for selectively activating the trigger in response to an excursion of the active dataset beyond one of the first limit or the second limit within the at least one data field; associating with the trigger a status indication; processing the active dataset to derive one or more trends for the at least one data field; and transforming the status indication and the one or more trends into a preventative maintenance report for the at least one operational source.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method of analyzing aircraft data for preventative maintenance, comprising: parsing a dataset indicative of maintenance-related information associated with an operational source into a data field; setting a limit on the data field to assess the dataset; activating a trigger in response to an excursion of the dataset beyond the limit; associating with the trigger a status indication; processing the dataset from the data field to derive trend information indicative of performance of the operational source; and presenting the status indication and the trend information into an informational report.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention provides maintenance support to a user, comprising: utilizing a maintenance information dataset associated with an aircraft operational source to derive an active dataset in response to a user provided an analysis criteria, the analysis criteria including a predetermined period of time over which the maintenance information dataset is collected by monitoring the aircraft operational source; parsing the active dataset into at least one data field; setting a trigger having a first limit and a second limit for the at least one data field, the trigger is determined responsive to an external profile having a first input, a second input, and a third input; analyzing the active dataset for selectively flagging the at least one data field by activating the trigger in response to a predetermined amount of excursion of the active dataset within the at least one data field beyond one of the first limit or the second limit; associating with the predetermined amount of excursion a status indication having a first level, a second level and a third level, either the first level, the second level or the third level is selected based on the predetermined amount of excursion beyond one of the first limit and the second limit, respectively; processing the predetermined amount of excursion of the active dataset to derive one or more specific trends for the at least one data field; transforming the status indication and the one or more specific trends into a preventative maintenance report; delivering the preventative maintenance report with the status indication to the user; and alerting the user by issuing a notification concerning the delivery of the preventative maintenance report.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, a system including, a computer server for receiving an aircraft dataset from a plurality of operational sources to parse the aircraft dataset into a plurality of data fields; a database operably coupled to the computer server for storing the aircraft dataset into the plurality of data fields; a web portal operably coupled to the computer server and the database, the web portal being accessible to a plurality of consumers employing one or more Internet connections for accessing a maintenance-related informational report through a user interface associated with each of plurality of consumers, the user interface providing real-time access, by way of a computer network, to the maintenance-related informational report; and a maintenance analysis engine coupled to the computer server, the database, and the web portal for processing the plurality of data fields by setting a dynamic limit on one or more data fields of the plurality of data fields, and disseminating one or more proactive recommendations through the web portal, the one or more recommendations being derived from a performance trending indication of the aircraft data stored in the database by dynamically flagging the one or more data fields when the dynamic limit is reached.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
These, and other, aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.